NY’s de Blasio calls BDS ‘unacceptable’ in speech on anti-Semitism

Mayor says support for boycott movement equates to denying Israel’s right to exist, vows to crack down on rise of anti-Semitic attacks in city

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio testifies during a joint legislative budget hearing on local government

Jewish Telegraph Agency, printed in Times of Israel reports, ” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a speech on anti-Semitism that supporting the campaign to boycott Israel is “unacceptable.”De Blasio, a Democrat, spoke Thursday at Brooklyn’s Kingsway Jewish Center, which hosted a city-sponsored rally against anti-Semitism.”

““Maybe some people don’t realize it, but when they support the BDS movement, they are affronting the right of Israel to exist and that is unacceptable,” he said, using the acronym of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.”…

“De Blasio’s statements on BDS come amid a debate in the United States on legislation designed to prevent the campaign’s supporters from receiving government contracts. Critics of the legislation say it limits free speech.

De Blasio also addressed hate crimes against Jews in New York City, where they were more frequent targets in 2018 than all other targeted groups combined, according to police figures.” (more…)